The Worthing Thunder Junior program for the 2019/20 season is as follows.
Under 12 Central Hoops
Under 14 National League
For any enquiries regarding the junior programme, please contact Nicci Parish on juniors@worthingthunder.net
Henry’s Match Reports
Thunder Juniors: Reflection on the Season
As the season nears its end, it’s time to review how the season went. First of all U12’s have entered with 2 teams with the new Basketball England U12 league so they’ve played their first year in national league. With Team Ish all developing into players that have shown great team spirit throughout and have all individually and collectively shown great work ethic.
Without doubt one of our biggest successes this season is Team Zaire U12’s who currently sit in second place in the league and they have shown great determination and team work to get them where they are now.
The U14 team have continued from last season and although it’s been a somewhat tough season Coach Josh has guided them and driven them to improve them not only as basketball players but also as people.
On entering an U16 team for the first time they have established themselves as a team who can work hard and has potential for future. They are currently 3rd in the league.Would you like to be part of a great junior programme? Our trials are on Saturday 9th May email juniors@worthingthunder.net for more details. ~ Henry Parish
Saturday 1st February 2020
U12’s Team Ish secured a great win against Winchester Royals on Saturday.
Note from Ish
I was really pleased with how we played as a team all weekend. Oliver; is very coachable on the defensive end and does a great job in nullifying opposition guards full court. Another defensive bulldog is Danny, he’s such a pest and plays with this vibrant energy so that when they’re on court together it’s hard for the opposition to play comfortably. I work the guys hard in practice and I’m so pleased to see improvements in Kez and Nathan they did so well on Saturday. James worked so hard this weekend and ran his legs off which is great. Phoenix is starting to develop an offensive game especially in the open court; I was really pleased to see how he attacked the basket. Jasmine is one of my more experienced players and is building in confidence more and more each week. Tom had an excellent weekend actually Tom had an excellent week, his practice Thursday was so great I left there only thinking how we could get the ball to him on Saturday; he does it at a high level on both ends of the floor I’m very reliant on him. And there’s Connor who always plays with a smile on his face! I haven’t seen Remy for a couple of weeks and it was good to have him back and aggressive. Lyle is really developing in to a floor general; when he first came to Thunder I was excited to work with him, such a great skill set. He is tasked, weekly with making his team mates play better and getting them easy shots and I believe this is what he does.
I don’t have an MVP or player of the week as they all improved this weekend!!!
GO THUNDER 🏀🏀🏀🏀🏀
Saturday 9th February 2019
Worthing Thunder U14’s chalked up a big close win against Sussex Storm by a slender 62-60. Thunder sprang into life at the beginning playing some great defence and leaving Storm rattled. As the game progressed into the second half Thunder began to relent up on the defence and slowly but surely Storm began to cut into a 20 point lead Thunder had grown. It all came to a head in the 4th quarter when Storm were very much ascending on Thunder. From then on Storm had a very good run of possessions and reduced the deficit to 5. Thankfully, Thunder just about held on in there and gained their 5th win to their collection. Coach Jorge’s MVP Dan Seymour. ~ Henry Parish
Saturday 26th January 2019
Worthing Thunder juniors U14’s recorded an emphatic win over Sevenoaks 73-70 at the Thunderdome on Saturday 26th. Both teams started evenly trading baskets in the first quarter. In the second Sevenoaks edged slightly further ahead and built a double digit lead at the half way point. However Thunder weren’t just going to relax and started cutting into their lead. Sevenoaks ran into foul trouble midway of the third quarter and Thunder continued the pressure. With 2minutes to remain in fourth quarter Thunder lead by 7 and Sevenoaks tried to stage a late upset but Thunder held on to a 3 point lead! Coach Jorge’s MVP Will Christian. ~ Henry Parish
Saturday 19th January 2019
Worthing Thunder U14’s succumbed to their first defeat of the year with a 95-59 to Kent Crusaders. The Crusaders were a very physical team and despite Thunders best efforts they went into the break trailing by 30. In the second half Thunder started an almost impossible task of overturning a 30 point deficit to Crusaders. Thunder managed to cut the lead to 17 points in third quarter but couldn’t keep the momentum going and this left Crusaders the winners. Best wishes to Coach Jorge’s MVP Archie Towse who ended his game injured with a suspected fractured wrist! ~ Henry Parish
Saturday 5th January 2019
Worthing Thunder U14’s clinched a first win in 2019 at a home game against Mid Sussex Chargers. Thunder burst out with a good lead and although MSC kept on going they couldn’t keep the score on range. Going into half time Thunder had widened the gap and held on to the momentum and powered through with a 85-52 win! Coach Jorge’s MVP was Luca Sacco ~ Henry Parish
Saturday 22nd December 2018
Saturday 22nd December saw our U12’s in an exciting home game against local D and D U12’s. D and D came quickly out of the blocks gaining a solid lead in the first quarter. Thunder managed to peg them back and narrowed the lead leaving D and D only a slim lead going into the second half. Unfortunately Thunder couldn’t quite keep the pressure up and just allowed D and D to slip further through. Although U12’s suffered a loss they played a good team game. Coach Ishmael’s MVP was Levi Allen ~ Henry Parish
Saturday 1st December 2018
Worthing Thunder staged a great comeback at the leisure centre on Saturday 1st December as they went on to beat Folkestone Saints 58-53. Going in at half time Thunder were down by 11 points, however Thunder came out revitalised in the second half and were able to come back by playing great defence and by playing as a tight team managed to go all the way and secure the win! Coach Jorge’s MVP Dan Seymour. ~Henry Parish
Saturday 24th November 2018
Worthing Thunder Juniors U14’s were narrowly defeated 66-67 by Brighton Cougars in an lively match. Going into half time, Thunder were trailing by 15 points going into the break. However Thunder turned it around to lead by 9 points with 6 minutes on the clock. After a tough last quarter and 3 injuries Thunder were leading by 2 points with 21 seconds to go, unexpectedly Cougars shot a 3 pointer taking them to a 1 point lead with 19 seconds left. Unfortunately Thunder couldn’t get that last basket! But what a game. Coach Jorge’s MVP was Will. ~ Henry Parish
Saturday 10th November 2018
Saturday 10th November brought Worthing Thunders U12 team to face Sussex Bears U12 at Worthing Leisure Centre for their first friendly of the season. Thunder struggled to begin with as lots of shots were just missing the basket but Thunder didn’t give in and finally got their first basket in the second quarter. Despite their best efforts they succumbed to a defeat. Coach Ishmael’s MVP was Julian. ~ Henry Parish
Saturday 27th October 2018
Thunder U14’s played their first home game at Worthing Leisure Centre on Saturday 27th October. Unfortunately they were beaten by the tough Brixton Topcats. However Thunder were resilient and didn’t give up until the final buzzer! Coming within a few points in the third quarter the juniors couldn’t quite go all the way and gain the lead. Coach Jorge’s MVP was David. ~ Henry Parish
Sunday 21st October 2018
Worthing Thunder Juniors succumbed to their first defeat as they lost 105-40 to a strong Sevenoaks Sun’s side. Sevenoaks burst into an early lead 12-0 out of the traps. However a resilient Thunder team reeled back to go into half time trailing by 22 points. Annette Christian stated ‘ I thought the team responded positively in a really tough match and encouraged and supported each throughout the game’. Coach Tor’s MVP was Archie Towse. ~ Henry Parish
Saturday 6th October 2018
Worthing Thunder Juniors U14 started their season with a bang as they beat Mid Sussex Charges convincingly 99-40. The main reason for the great win was the high level of teamwork shown by all players on and off the court. This was evident as every one of the players got on the scoresheet. Coach Tor’s MVP was Will Christian who overcame a nosebleed to score 27 points! ~ Henry Parish
Testimonials
St Peter’s Catholic Primary School – 13th September 2018
“Just wanted to give you some feedback on the Basketball Club last night. The children thoroughly enjoyed it. The coach, Ishmael, was fantastic and so good with the children. He took time to speak with them and their parents. The activities he ran were well organised, and very well delivered to ensure the children gained maximum benefit. We look forward to the coming weeks!”